No warrant, no case file: the two March and March leaders who offered to hand themselves in

No arrest warrant has been issued against Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma or her husband Xolani Zuma, and the South African Police Service says it has no trace of any case registered against either of them.

The National Prosecuting Authority and SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal both moved on Wednesday to dismiss claims that warrants were out for the two leaders of the March and March movement, who have been prominent in campaigning on immigration enforcement.

The claims began with a statement from Xolani Zuma, the acting chief executive of the SA First Forum, in which he said he had been advised that a warrant of arrest had been issued against himself and against Ngobese-Zuma, in connection with the movement’s activities. He said he did not believe it was true, and that if it were, they were available to hand themselves over to police that day.

SAPS in KwaZulu-Natal said no such warrant exists. “As a matter of fact, police do not have a trace of any case registered against the two,” the service said in its statement. It said it does not react to baseless allegations, but that the situation on the ground and the potential for panic among residents required it to set the record straight. It encouraged anyone who believes a warrant has been issued against them to contact the police to verify it, and to state the charge they face so that the public is not left speculating.

The NPA said it makes independent and impartial prosecutorial decisions guided only by the Constitution, legislation and evidence, and it urged individuals and organisations to refrain from spreading unfounded allegations that could undermine the integrity of the criminal justice process. The authority said any charges would become publicly known only once enrolled in court.

As CapeTown ETC reported on 15 October, both institutions had dismissed the arrest claims.

For readers who have not followed the movement, March and March has organised public action around immigration policy, the pressure that undocumented migration places on Home Affairs processing, clinics, schools, housing and informal trading, and the demand that the state enforce existing law. That is the argument its leaders have been making in public. It is also the argument that has put them at the centre of a running public dispute over who is entitled to speak for South Africans on the question.

The practical effect of Wednesday’s statements is narrow and specific. Two people who had publicly offered to hand themselves over to police now have it on the record from both the police and the prosecuting authority that there is nothing to hand themselves over for. No charge has been named. No case number has been given. No court date has been set, because there is no enrolled matter.

What remains unresolved is where the original advice came from. Neither Zuma’s statement nor the two institutional responses identify the source of the claim. SAPS’s statement points to the risk that such claims carry for residents in the areas where the movement has been active, and asks public figures to verify before speaking. That is the only account on the record of how the claim arose, and it does not name anyone.

For the residents who have been following the movement’s campaigns, the outcome is that nothing has changed in law. The enforcement demands March and March has been putting to government are still standing, the Home Affairs queues its supporters point to are still there, and no prosecution has been opened against its leadership. Whether the movement’s next public action proceeds as planned is a question only its organisers can answer, and as of Wednesday evening they had not said.